Katie (aka Wellness Mama) started her real food journey a year ago when her first son was born. She somehow manages to juggle five kids, her husband, and her wildly popular blog. Katie also recently published a cookbook, Wellness Mama Cookbook. She managed to squeeze in some time to be this month's Featured Chef, and shared some amazing recipes for healthy family eats. Follow Wellness Mama on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Q: How did you get involved in cooking to begin with? Was it something you learned to love early on or did you come to it later?

I definitely came to love cooking later in life. When I was young, my mom was a great cook, but I was often busy with activities at night and never really experimented with cooking. When I married my husband, who has an Italian heritage, I wanted to learn to cook some of his favorite dishes (or healthier alternatives). I started experimenting with recipes when we got married and discovered that I absolutely loved cooking and eventually started creating my own recipes.

Q: Why is eating grass-fed meat and sustainably-caught fish different? How does it affect your cooking?

I started eating this way for the health and environmental reasons, but fell in love with it because the taste and quality were so much better. Not only does grass fed meat or sustainable fish have many more nutrients and much less chemicals and toxins stored in it, it just tastes better!

Q: Is it just about health? Or is there more to it than that?

Absolutely. That is the primary reason I choose it. Sometimes, the healthiest option in something is not the best tasting or most enjoyable, but with grass-fed meats, it is the best of both worlds… healthy and better taste!

Q: How did you learn about grass-fed meat?

In high school, I was a vegetarian for a while because I was disgusted with the way animals were treated in food lots. With soccer and my other activities, I needed the protein so eventually went back to eating meat, but was so glad when I discovered grass fed and humanely raised alternatives.

Q: Why is it so important to have the right ingredients?

Quality ingredients make a night and day difference in the outcome of a recipe. It is the difference between processed food or fast food prepared in bulk and delicious food prepared by a trained chef.

Q: What are the most important keys to success for the home chef?

Preparation and planning. I find that meal planning saves me so much time and money because I have only the ingredients on hand that I need and nothing gets wasted. I also pre-prepare as much as I can one or two days a week to cut down on the day to day food prep time.

Q: What are your best tips for home cooking?

Meal plan and include easy meals like stir fry and crock pot meals each week

Q: What is your favorite recipe using grass-fed meat?

Pakistani Kima is definitely a favorite and beef and Cabbage Stir Fry is another one we love.